Bree

Eeeee! So many of my fav tropes in one book!

Reviewed: 11-11-23 Listener received this title free

So excited that this is on audio! Thank you to Aveda Vice for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I love this couple so much. I highly recommend reading Feed first (also on audio, now!) because you definitely get the tension between this couple. This book combines many of my favorite things: workplace romance, tension, monsters, queer characters, enemies to lovers, letter writing, unique...situations.

I always love when authors prioritize having audiobooks made, especially since the expense is (rightfully) so great. I know it's difficult, especially for indie authors, but this book definitely proves that it is worth it! The narrator did such a good job bringing these two characters to life.

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The chemistry, tho 😍

Reviewed: 11-09-23 Listener received this title free

Reread: 11/2023 - THIS IS ON AUDIO NOW! I loved this when I had Alexa read it to me, but it’s so much better with an actually audiobook narrator, these two have SO much chemistry I can barely handle it. I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out on audio!

***

♡ Erotic novella
♡ Fantasy Creatures (Succubus/fairy)
♡ Enemies to lovers
♡ Genderqueer main character
♡ BDSM
♡ Sex worker main character

This book was a great way to draw you into reading the full length novel, Yours, Insatiably. Aside from the workplace rivals to lovers dynamic between the two main characters, I love the idea of this app that is basically like DoorDash for monsters. The heroine is a succubus who needs to feed regularly, so she uses the app, but the person who responds is not who she expects. Keep in mind that there is no real HEA at the end of this book and it is super short

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True crime + romance lovers will adore this

Reviewed: 05-29-22

Omg this audiobook was SO GOOD! It was short with a little bit of steam, a lot of humor, fantastic banter, and a lot of great messages. And can we talk about the acting? The audiobook readers and production made everything better. It makes me wish ALL audiobooks were like this one.

If you’re a fan of true crime podcasts, like me, you’re going to love all the tidbits that are included in this.

If you love grumpy sunshine and the irreverent character that brings out another side to a more reserved love interest, you need to read this. It’s perfect for readathons or to read in between longer books.

Thank you so much to Jack Harbon for sending this audiobook for me. I don’t often read review copies because my backlist tbr is sooooo long, but Jack is one of a handful of authors who I will drop everything for. 💖

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Get ready to swoon!

Reviewed: 11-02-21

♡ Rockstar romance (Hero is a drummer)
♡ Best friend's sister
♡ Childhood neighbors
♡ Found family
♡ Autobuy author
♡ Romcom
♡ Amazing audio (includes original songs & narrated by two favs)
♡ Available on KU (The audiobook is a steal if you borrow or buy the ebook)

Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Source: Audible/KU

This book had everything I'm come to expect from Lauren Rowe and this world. Of course, it is filled with characters I adore and little tidbits for those of us who are huge fans of all the characters in the Morgan Brothers universe. Of course, as is true with all the books that revolve around the Morgan Bros, this can be read as a standalone (I personally think that you enjoy these books much more if you start with the Morgan Bros series, but that's just me!)

I can't tell you how grateful I am that Lauren Rowe always takes the time to not only cast her audiobook narrators so well if she's not narrating herself, but also to include things like original music that is actually REALLY good. (Smitten is on repeat around here because my girls are obsessed with it. My 9yo sang it to her friend on Valentine's day via video chat - it was so cute).

ANYway, back to the book. Normally, I prefer when the hero is the one who is pining when it comes to, well, any romance, but particularly in childhood-friends-to-lovers. In this case, Colin doesn't quite realize (or admit) his feelings for Amy right away, but she has been swooning after him her entire life. What makes this particular situation different is that while Amy's feelings are strong, she doesn't let them turn her into a doormat. I love, love, LOVE it when a heroine tortures the hero and makes them jealous to prove a point. Is that weird? I don't care, but that's what Amy does and I was so here for it. And let me tell you, Colin's response was SO SATISFYING! Just like this book, to be completely honest.

I know I need to slow down when reading Lauren's books since I've read every single one and no longer have a backlist to cling to, but it's my ultimate struggle. I just can't stop reading them once I've started!

Anyway, if you know me, you know Lauren Rowe is one of my all-time fav contemporary romance authors so it shouldn't be a surprise that I adored this book.

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Get ready to fall in love... hard

Reviewed: 03-02-19

This book was everything I needed for so many reasons.


I’ve been reading a lot of dark, heavy books lately and I desperately needed a break. I needed something light, something that made my heart soar, something that made me swoon and laugh and fall in love.

So… I turned to Lauren Blakely.

We all have our go-to authors for certain things. If I want a slow burn, it’s Mariana Zapata, if I want to laugh out loud and swoon, it’s Lauren Rowe, if I want beautifully crafted mega steam, it’s Sierra Simone, if I want twisted darkness in the most beautiful way, it’s Trisha Wolfe.

If I want to fall in love? It’s Lauren Blakely.

I absolutely adore authors who understand the power of a good audiobook, and Lauren truly appreciates us audiobook readers … and it shows. She’s active in the audiobook community (I posted in Aural Fixation after reading my first of her books asking which books I should read next by her and SHE commented on my post!)

It’s obvious that she puts a lot of thought into the production of her audiobooks. She wrote the first full-cast romance audiobook I ever listened to: Birthday Suit – which was an absolute delight to read – and now this book, which was narrated duet-style, is growing in popularity and I’m absolutely living for it.

Most of my all-time favorite narrators have narrated Lauren’s books, and Best Laid Plans featured two of my very favorites: Erin Mallon and Joe Arden.

These two narrators did so much justice to such loveable characters.

I recently wrote a post listing all the authors I wished were my best friends, and it was Lauren Blakely who inspired the post. Just from reading her books, I felt her warmth and charisma come through the characters.

I never wanted to hug an author so much after reading a book. Particularly this one.

I’ve been having kind of an awful few weeks and while reading dark books let me brood a bit, I needed something light to take me out of the gloom – and this was absolutely perfect.

This book made me genuinely happy and I was so in love with Arden and Gabe (also – how perfect are those names, tho?!?!)

I also love when authors take a common trope and put their own spin on it. I’ve ALWAYS loved the whole friends-to-lovers/teach-me-how trope, but they can be a bit repetitive. I loved this take on the trope, how Arden treated her “lessons” as a “dress-rehearsal” rather than the actual performance.

Also – that meetcute of sorts was so freaking epic.

And can we talk about how badly I want Arden’s bookstore to exist? And how much I want to join that bookclub?!?!

And Gabe’s relationship with his family… SWOON!

Also… he’s a firefighter. It’s like she plucked all of my favorite things out of my brain and crafted this novel.

And I couldn’t be more grateful.

(If nothing else, you need to listen to this audio because at the end there is an EPIC interview between Joe Arden and Erin Mallon in which, among other things, they read a grocery list as a couple having sex for the first time… and it’s hilarious and on point.)

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All About Those Hot Hackers!

Reviewed: 08-05-18

After reading King of Code by C.D. Reiss , I wasn’t sure anyone else could pull off what I’ve deemed as Hot Hackers like she could, but Penny certainly did!


CD and Penny have two completely different writing styles and I loved that I was able to compare the two and enjoy their unique approaches to such a complex and secretive world.

I have to admit, much like in King of Code, I was intrigued by this hacker’s world, particularly Bitcoins, and if I had an infinite amount of time, I’d do more research into it and maybe read a few books about it.

Instead, I took the easy road and asked my Cute Nerd of a husband about bitcoins and got some great insight from him.

Speaking of Cute Nerds, Alex was such an odd character … and I mean that in the best way possible. I honestly wasn’t sure what to think of him at first and because of that, it took me a little while to warm up to him.

But once I did, it was a wildfire.

The age gap between Alex and Sandra was done really well. I mentioned in my review for Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas that age gaps aren’t really my thing, but it’s hard for me to say anything isn’t really my thing with any certainty because plenty of amazing authors have proven me wrong time and time again.

I think the only other book I’ve read in which the female character was older than the male character was Outlander, but like this book, it wasn’t the most significant part of the story.

Like the rest of the series, I very much enjoyed this book. I appreciate that each of the books I’ve read so far are different enough to keep me interested in the entire series… and excited to see what is next.

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Trisha Wolfe Is The Best Writer In This Genre!

Reviewed: 08-05-18

Quinn and Avery are no Colton and Sadie, but I enjoyed diving back into the world of Broken Bonds.


I read the first book in this series as an eBook, then went back and reread it when the audiobook was released, since the audiobook version of this series combines all three books into one.

This series, like With Visions of Red, works as a series or as a completed book. The physical and ebooks give you little breaks if the darkness is a little too much for you all in one sitting.

It isn’t for me. Not at all. Give me all of Trisha Wolfe’s darkness.

In fact, Avery and Quinn were almost a little too “light” for me (which isn’t saying much, trust me) in comparison to Sadie/Colton and London/Grayson (Darkly, Madly Duet).

One of the best things that TW does is dig deeply into the dark minds and Avery and Quinn are much more “normal” than the previous characters of hers that I read.

By the second book, I started losing interest a bit, but by the third book, my interest spiked again. I loved the ending of this series, particularly how London was briefly mentioned. It made me smile hearing her name. I love knowing what I know now about Sadie after having glimpsed her in Born, Darkly.

I pretty much have loved all the female characters in TW’s books that I’ve read, and that, unfortunately, is pretty rare for me.

The female characters here are strong and fierce without being obnoxious. They are subtle in their dark badassery and I appreciate that.

Seeing Sadie and Colton from Avery and Quinn’s POVs actually made me love them more. I love seeing how others view Sadie after being in her head in With Visions of Red. It’s obvious that she doesn’t realize just how intimidating she is.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Avery, too. I loved Avery in the first book. But Sadie is certainly a much more interesting character.

Quinn isn’t necessarily my cup of tea, he’s a little too much of a stereotype for me, but I really liked him with Avery.

Overall, these books are worth reading, especially if you were a fan of the Darkly, Madly duet and the With Visions of Red trilogy.

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New Favorite Author & New Favorite Book

Reviewed: 08-05-18

I loved King of Code… I’m obsessed with White Knight.


CD Reiss’s bio on Goodreads says that she’s known as the Shakespeare of Smut, and I couldn’t agree more.

In all honesty, I actually don’t think that her books are all that smutty, but maybe that’s because I’ve read a lot of steamy romance novels in my time.

I devoured White Knight all in one sitting and I was absolutely not expecting to!

While I was excited to read it after reading King of Code, I figured it’d be one of those books I’d eventually get to, like, 2 years after adding it to my TBR. (As is the unfortunate norm.) Especially since it is an eBook and I rarely have time to actually sit down and read.

The day before, however, my husband and I went to the beach and I decided to start the book. Little did I know it would consume me and I’d obsessively read it to the very last page.

Fair warning to anyone who reads this book on their Kindle and has the percentage read feature turned on… this book has a few chapters from two of her other books at the end, so even though it says you’re only halfway through, you’re actually almost finished at that point.

That threw me off so bad because I kept thinking to myself, “Oh my goodness, this HEA is wrapping up, but I’m only halfway through! Something horrible is going to happen!”

Alas, it did not.

I think the thing I loved the most about this book, aside from the gorgeous prose, was how intense the sparks were between Catherine and Chris. Their connection was one of those rare instalove instances that I was wholly invested in.

CD spun the magic of young first love like the magician she is. It felt like the whirlwind it was meant to be. I was completely wrapped up in their love story and was just as hesitant and hopeful as Catherine was when they reunited years later.

This was such a gorgeous romance with the perfect amount of steam.

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New Favorite Author & New Favorite Book

Reviewed: 08-05-18

I loved King of Code… I’m obsessed with White Knight.


CD Reiss’s bio on Goodreads says that she’s known as the Shakespeare of Smut, and I couldn’t agree more.

In all honesty, I actually don’t think that her books are all that smutty, but maybe that’s because I’ve read a lot of steamy romance novels in my time.

I devoured White Knight all in one sitting and I was absolutely not expecting to!

While I was excited to read it after reading King of Code, I figured it’d be one of those books I’d eventually get to, like, 2 years after adding it to my TBR. (As is the unfortunate norm.) Especially since it is an eBook and I rarely have time to actually sit down and read.

The day before, however, my husband and I went to the beach and I decided to start the book. Little did I know it would consume me and I’d obsessively read it to the very last page.

Fair warning to anyone who reads this book on their Kindle and has the percentage read feature turned on… this book has a few chapters from two of her other books at the end, so even though it says you’re only halfway through, you’re actually almost finished at that point.

That threw me off so bad because I kept thinking to myself, “Oh my goodness, this HEA is wrapping up, but I’m only halfway through! Something horrible is going to happen!”

Alas, it did not.

I think the thing I loved the most about this book, aside from the gorgeous prose, was how intense the sparks were between Catherine and Chris. Their connection was one of those rare instalove instances that I was wholly invested in.

CD spun the magic of young first love like the magician she is. It felt like the whirlwind it was meant to be. I was completely wrapped up in their love story and was just as hesitant and hopeful as Catherine was when they reunited years later.

This was such a gorgeous romance with the perfect amount of steam.

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This book and this narrator... I can't even...

Reviewed: 06-30-18

Why have I waited so long to read a book by CD Reiss… Particularly this book?


I can’t tell you how ecstatic I am over finding so many incredible authors this year. Not just decent authors, but Autobuy Authors.

CD Reiss may just be one of them.

I’m going to give it a few more books to see, but so far, she’s impressed me.

She’s an incredible writer and storyteller. I was in awe of the amount of research she must’ve done to write this book effectively.

While I’m no hacker, I do know a decent amount of code, and I was getting all of her references. I was particularly in love with Taylor’s letter that he writes all in code to Harper.

Speaking of Harper and Taylor… they were both such unique, distinct characters.

Taylor is one of my favorites because his flaws and traits weren’t overly exaggerated for the sake of a bold personality. His growth as a person throughout the book was slow-moving but significant (and I mean that in the best way.)

He gradually realized just how misogynistic he was being as he realized that, yes, in fact, a woman can be a brilliant coder and, no, just because he can’t keep it in his pants doesn’t mean that’s a good reason to avoid hiring women.

And Taylor’s personality paired with Christian Fox’s ability to showcase the subtle, dry humor was absolute audio perfection.

Harper was straight up crazy and brilliant and seemed to have some social issues and I loved every second of it. She made me uncomfortable a few times, but I wasn’t mad about it. It felt right for her character.

I am so excited to read more books by CD Reiss!

NOTE: This book isn’t technically part of a series, however, a few of the characters have their own novels that tie into this novel. Prince Charming follows Keaton and White Knight is Catherine’s story.

This is the order I suggest reading them in:
1. King of Code
2. White Knight
3. Prince Charming

To be honest, the last two can be interchangeable, but I think King of Code makes sense to read first.

Audiobook Performance: 5 million stars
Could I be any more in love with Christian Fox? I don’t think so. He has the most gorgeous voice in the world. I could listen to him read the dictionary and be happy. I also like the subtle “effects” in this audiobook when it came to the codes that would otherwise be boring.

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